Tuesday, June 21, 2011

It’s clear that contention over immigration has moved beyond the coasts and border states. Alabama’s new law concerning illegal immigrants is one of the harshest enacted thus far in the U.S. and brings the legal status of schoolchildren, and their parents by extension, into the debate. The editorial board weighed in Friday on the side of the kids, calling the failed attempts to implement comprehensive national immigration policy unacceptable.

Readers are at odds about Alabama’s law and whether it unfairly criminalizes illegal immigration or is a positive step toward curbing a serious problem:

"It’s not fair for legal citizens to foot the bill for illegal immigrants"

"It’s one thing to be an illegal immigrant; quite another to be a criminal"

"Americans deserve the jobs that illegal alien workers get"

"Don’t blame Alabama for putting kids in the crossfire; blame their parents"